BILOXI – Mississippi State baseball is back at the beach where the Bulldogs are set to battle two non-conference opponents prior to opening SEC play this weekend.

MSU takes on Old Dominion on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Keesler Federal Park before returning to the same venue to take on Nicholls on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Both games are part of the Hancock Whitney Classic and will be televised on SEC Network+.

The Diamond Dawgs have had their share of success on the coast in recent years, posting a 6-2 record there. It will be the fourth consecutive year that State has participated in the event.

The Bulldogs will send junior right-hander Evan Siary to the mound to make his first start of the season and eighth of his career. Siary has made three appearances out of the bullpen this spring with a flawless ERA but has not factored into a decision. The Columbus native has fanned four across 3 1/3 innings of work and surrendered only one baserunner.

Old Dominion counters with sophomore righty Nick Sulpizio, who will also be making his first start of the year and fifth of his career. Sulpizio is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA, five strikeouts and six walks in 5 1/3 innings of work.

Mississippi State heads into things with an 11-4 record and riding a four-game winning streak. The Bulldogs are coming off a three-game series sweep of Queens at home.

Chris Lemonis' club is batting .331 with 31 homers and averaging 8.7 runs per game. MSU is 25 of 27 on stolen base attempts and fielding at a .974 clip.

Noah Sullivan is the Diamond Dawgs' best bat as far as average goes, hitting .426 entering play. Following back-to-back two homer games on Saturday and Sunday, Aaron Downs has now assumed the team lead with seven homers while Ace Reese continues to pace State with 20 RBIs. Ross Highfill is the team leader with seven steals in eight tries.

Bulldog hurlers hold a collective 2.81 ERA with 176 strikeouts and 50 walk over 125 innings of work this year. Mississippi State's staff has held hitters to a .174 batting average this season and only 5.54 hits per game on average, which is the second-best mark in the country.

Siary, Chase Hungate, Nate Williams, Dane Burns, Cade O'Leary and Gavin Black all sport an unscathed ERA. Pico Kohn leads the team with 37 strikeouts and only four walks in 23 2/3 innings of work. Hungate has recorded two of the team's three saves on the year.

Old Dominion is 4-9 on the season and coming off a 1-2 showing at then No. 22 Auburn over the weekend. The Monarchs were able to edge the Tigers 11-9 on Saturday.

ODU is hitting .249 as a team with eight long balls and scoring 4.5 runs per game. The Monarchs have swiped 18 bases in 21 tries and have a fielding percentage of .957.

Tahraun Hammond is Old Dominion's leading hitter with a .381 batting average. Kyle Edwards and Kainen Jorge have clubbed two homers apiece to top the team in that category with Edwards also leading the way with 10 runs batted in and 7-for-7 on steal attempts.

On the mound, the Monarchs possess a 6.29 ERA with 125 strikeouts and 68 walks over 111 2/3 innings. Opponents are hitting .253 against them with 14 homers.

Dylan Brown tops ODU with 35 strikeouts while Cole Lanford is the lone pitcher with a perfect ERA. Kellen Davis, Marco Levari and Bailey Matela have all contributed saves this season.

Tuesday will mark the first-ever meeting between State and Old Dominion.

Nicholls enters the week with an 8-9 record and travels to Tulane on Tuesday before heading to Biloxi to battle the Bulldogs.

The Colonels are currently hitting .240 as a team and scoring 4.4 runs per game. They are also 12 of 18 in base thefts this season and have a .949 fielding percentage.

Karson Irvin leads Nicholls' regulars with a .358 batting average, 11 RBIs and is tied for the team lead with two steals. Fisher Ingersoll has hit two of the team's six homers this year.

Nicholls' pitching staff holds a 6.87 ERA with opponents batting .255 against them. The Colonels have fanned 143 and walked 100 in 136 1/3 innings this year and surrendered 14 homers.

Andy Miller, Kaden Cloward and Woody Brennan have perfect ERAs out of Nicholls' bullpen while Cole Simoneaux holds two of the team's three saves. Alec Sparks tops the Colonels with 27 strikeouts.

Neither team has announced a starting pitcher for Wednesday's game.

The Diamond Dawgs are 11-1 all-time against Nicholls including a 12-4 victory in Biloxi the last time the two teams met in 2023. Nicholls' lone victory in the series came at home in 2018.

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